Lucky Basterds
by Kato and Koba
Summary: Before the basterds go off killin' Nazis in mainland Europe they are temporarily stationed in the north of England and attract the attentions of the local girls, much to their men folk's dismay. Love, lust and violence ensues.
1. That Rainy Island West of the Atlantic

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inglourious Basterds or the characters apart from my own. I don't mean to offend anyone's race, nationality or gender its just how people were in the 1940s, I don't condone it at all._

_Note 1: For some reason in my old story the chapters weren't uploading so I've deleted and re-published it. Hopefully it will work this time. Thanks for everyone's reviews, gutted that they're not going appear on this one now :(_

_Note 2: In the film Hugo Stiglitz doesn't meet the Basterds until they go to mainland Europe which is after the story is set. So just pretend he's always been with them. I can't have a story about the Basterds without Stiglitz :)_

* * *

Cold, grey and wet. That was what the Basterds thought when they landed in England and they weren't far wrong either. They were more than disappointed when they first felt that icy wind against their skin and the drizzle in the air that was slowly but thoroughly soaking their hair. They had always heard bad things about the British weather but had it on good authority that it was greatly exaggerated and could be quite charming on a warm summer's day. The sun would shine down from a clear blue sky and a light, gentle breeze would blow so that it would never get too hot and unbearable. At the moment though, they couldn't even see the sky that was covered by miles of clouds, some grey and others almost black as though the heavens were about to open. And they weren't greeted by luscious green fields and wooded areas like they had anticipated, but instead a smoky, grey town filled with rows of brick terraced houses as far as the eye could see.

"Welcome to England" Aldo sighed rather disgruntled as he and his men grabbed their bags and slung them over their shoulders for their walk to the barracks. They trudged through the thick, fresh mud that sucked their feet into the earth and struggled to free themselves after each step. Utivich almost lost one of his boots in it.

Perhaps it wasn't going to be as pleasant as they thought it would be here in merry old England.

* * *

Lily Coulson was stood outside her house with her mother who was scrubbing at the step in front of the door as hard as she could. She wasn't the only one either. Women who didn't clean their steps were looked down upon by the neighbours and these proud women weren't about to let anyone else scrutinise them or their cleaning capabilities. The street was bustling with activity. The women all stood about outside gossiping to each other as they scrubbed the steps or painted the gates and fences. Lads on bikes rode up and down making deliveries, anything from loaves of bread and milk bottles, to packages and parcels and even the dreaded conscription. And anyone who wasn't otherwise occupied by cleaning, or for some women working in the factories whilst the men were away, they would always pop in next door to find out all the latest gossip.

"Mrs Davies at number 22 has lost another son, poor dear" Mrs Coulson informed next door's Mrs Lucas, who had popped around for her daily chat. She already had the pot on inside and as soon as the steps were done they'd go in and have a nice long chat and groan. Of course Mrs Lucas would have to take her shoes off at the door. No way was Mrs Coulson going to allow her on her steps after she just cleaned them, not with them dirty shoes.

"Aww the poor dear. I don't know how she copes. Anyway, how's your John?"

"He's well. Wrote to us yesterday. He's more upset at being anyway from the children than at the chance of dying the big softie" she rolled her eyes back at the thought of her husband. It was true, he was soft but she wouldn't have him any other way.

Lily smiled at the mention of her father. She was missing him so much but she didn't let anyone know. As soon as one of them broke down the whole family would and she couldn't have that. No, she managed to keep herself composed until night time when sometimes she would cry herself to sleep after having spent half an hour praying for all the soldiers to return back home safely. She always said a special prayer for her father.

"Lily! Lily!" a familiar voice called from up the street and when she turned around Lily saw the warm face of her friend Sybil Hammond. Lily waved and Sybil immediately ran to up to the gate, desperate to tell her friend the news.

"Lily, you'll never guess who's come into town. Americans! And there's some Jerries with them too, but apparently they're good ones" Sybil squeaked with delight at the thought of having new men in the town, or any young men at all really since most of the local lads had joined the army and been shipped off to France. But at hearing this new piece of gossip Mrs Lucas merely scoffed.

"Ha! There's no such thing as a good Jerry" she observed. She had never hated a nation so much as Germany. Apparently she lost a lot of her family in the Great War, including her fiancée, and she was quite sure that she would lose more of them fighting the scoundrels again this time. Sybil, however, ignored the woman who she considered a silly old bat!

"Want to go and take a look?" she asked enthusiastically. Lily had never really cared for Americans that much in truth. She found the men to be either too superficial or too coarse. Or the really bad ones who were both. There had been some vile Americans stationed close by before who she didn't have much time for. But now her curiosity had been awoken once more and she was in desperate need of new and interesting company.

Lily looked around at her mother and even though she wanted to satisfy her curiosity she felt a little guilty at the thought of leaving her mother to do all the housework.

"Do you need me, mum?" she asked but her tone of voice sounded like it wasn't genuinely concerned at all. After all she **had **helped out with the chores every day and did a lot more than her brothers and sisters did put together. It was about time she had a day off. Her mother looked up at her and sighed in frustration at her daughter's determination to get out of doing her chores but reluctantly replied,

"No I suppose not. Mind you, I want you back in time to make the tea, you hear me?"

"Thanks mum, see you later. Bye Mrs Lucas" and with that, Lily ran towards the garden gate almost jumping over it but remembering at the last minute how her mother always scolded her for doing that and so she unlatched the lock instead and went out the old fashion way. She and Sybil gossiped on the way down to where the Americans were staying and as each minute went by they started getting faster and faster until they were almost running.

The soldiers had been placed in the Scout's hut adjacent to the playing fields where the soldiers could train. Many thought they were so far away from the town centre to stop arguments and fights between them and the local lads. Some didn't take kindly to the Americans coming into their territory and taking their girls away from them. As Lily and Sybil began walking down the lane they could see the outline of some of the men out in the open field already, playing some kind of sport with bats.

"Look there they are. Are any good looking?" Sybil asked as the two came to a stop. She squinted trying to get a better look at them but it wasn't doing much other than straining her eyes and making them hurt.

"Can't see from here" Lily said as she stood shading her eyes with her hand because of the bright but equally grey clouds above were distorting her view. The sun was fighting desperately to pop out today but the clouds were having none of it, making them look like they had a golden lining.

"Lets go and talk to them" Sybil grinned and before Lily could even say a word against it, Sybil had gone off and began walking over towards them.

"Sybil! Don't!" Lily protested. She knew what people around here thought about girls who befriended Americans. But Sybil didn't care and rather than leave her friend unchaperoned Lily ran after her and linked arms with her. Sybil gave her a victorious smirk which she wore upon arrival on the fields.

"Hey fellas!" Sybil cheerily called out, grabbing the attention of the men who ears pricked up at the sound of female voices. They turned their heads to see two pretty young women walking over to them, arm in arm. One was a pale blonde and the other was more tanned with curly, light brown hair.

"Well hello there, ladies" one replied in a thick accent that sounded quite similar to the one that Oliver Hardy had at the end of Way out West to Lily's ear, though she could be mistaken. She didn't have a good ear for foreign accents. He seemed a charming man anyway and she could tell that Sybil had fallen for him already with his clear blue eyes and dashing moustache.

"So you're Americans? When you getting shipped out?" Sybil asked him, supposing he was the leader of the group.

"Not for a few weeks yet ma'am. Why? You wanting to get rid of us already?"

"Of course not" Sybil giggled girlishly making Lily roll her eyes back and blush with embarrassment. "Wanted to know how long we've got you for, can't waste what little time we're given."

Lily's face turned even redder and she had to lower her head to hide her blushing cheeks. It was saying things like this that was starting to make her the talk of the town, not that Sybil minded this really. She always liked to be the centre of attention and acted outrageously to get it.

"What's your name soldier?" Sybil inquired.

"Lieutenant Aldo Raine, at your service ma'am" he replied, clicking his heels together as though he was asked to stand to attention but then he gave a litle courteous bow of the head. "And yours?"

"Sybil Hammond" she replied, fluttering her lashes.

"Well ain't that pretty. And you?" he complimented before turning to the blonde girl.

"Lily" she introduced, finally raising her head to make polite eye contact with him. But she was determined that she wasn't going to give him her last name.

"Beautiful" he smiled.

"Don't suppose you fellas have any nylons with you?" Sybil asked openly without any hesitation. She was in desperate need of new stockings and was just about ready to do anything to get her hands on a pair. She knew how these Americans worked. Give them a favour and they'll give you stockings. Loads of her friends did it and she was getting pretty sick of having to darken her legs with gravy and pencilling on seams.

"What?" Aldo asked a little confused, furrowing his brow.

"Sybil!" Lily chastised at the same time, shocked that her friend could ask such a thing to men they had only just met. _No wonder they think that English girls are loose women when girls like you say such things. You__'__re gonna give us a bad reputation._ Sybil looked at Lily with innocent eyes but Lily knew better than to be taken in by them. After a moment of awkward silence Lily decided to break it.

"We hear you have a German with you. Is he a friendly German?" she let out a light laugh to which the Lieutenant smiled at.

"Well, depends on your definition of friendly"

"Which one is he?" she asked, looking over all nine of the men and trying to guess which one was the Jerry. Well she could discount one anyway. Aldo Raine was certainly no German. Her eyes wandered over each and everyone one of them and they all seemed to have pleasant, smiling faces. All except one and that so happened to be the one that Lieutenant Raine pointed at.

"Guten Tag" she greeted warmly in the little bit of German she knew. But the German looked at her with cold eyes and a stern face which made her feel rather uncomfortable. Once again she blushed from embarrassment and mumbled "well perhaps not then"

"Just ignore Hugo, he's not the loquacious type. We do have an Austrian though" he alternated and pointed out the Austrian soldier who had dark brown hair. The Austrian took her hand and brought it to his lips kissing it in a gentleman like manner, bringing a smile back to her face once more.

"Guten Tag fraulein, ich bin Wilhelm Wicki" he introduced himself and Lily found herself utterly enchanted by the charming Austrian soldier.

"So what are you boys doing tonight?" Sybil asked suddenly after Wilhelm had straightned himself back up after greeting Lily, trying to get the attention back on herself. She wasn't jealous of Lily really, she considered herself much more attractive than her friend, but she knew that Lily had that sweet personae that men like to have in a wife, and Sybil didn't have much to offer other than her pretty face.

"I don't think we have any plans"

"Why don't you come to the pub. We'll be there. We've got friends" Sybil suggested whilst fluttering her long eye lashes at the lieutenant who couldn't help but laugh at her flirtatious ways and attempts to conquer his affections.

"Well then, we might just happen to find ourselves wandering in there tonight. If you happen to be there, we may just join you" he supposed much to Sybil's delight.

On the way back Sybil couldn't stop talking about how handsome Lieutenant Aldo Raine was, and she still continued to harp on about him when they reached the town and went into the tea rooms. Lily didn't pay any attention to her however. She was busy with her own thoughts and had come to a series of conclusions. After her encounter with the Americans and Germans, Lily'a views or opinions hadn't changed at all. To her, the Americans were still superficial and vulgar and the Germans cruel and unkind. But she had a newfound respect for the Austrians now after meeting the refined Wilhelm Wicki. To her it didn't even matter that Adolf Hitler himself was an Austrian.


	2. The Red Lion

The girls stayed true to their word and when the Basterds popped into the local pub, _The Red Lion,_ they were met by the sound of soft laughter and upbeat jazz music playing on the record player behind the bar.

"Aldo!"

Sybil shouted above the others and her voice echoed across the room, making all the regulars turn their heads to look at where such a raucous was coming from. She was leaning back in her seat in a casual yet studied poise and grinned flirtatiously at him with a cigarette in her hand. She had already stained the tip of it with her deep crimson lipstick.

The men swaggered over to the little group and Sybil immediately stood up and embraced Aldo with a hug and two kisses on the cheek. Her painted lips left two pink marks on either side of his stubbly skin. Lily's head flicked up at the sight of the soldiers at her table. She couldn't wait to talk to Wilhelm. Well, she hoped he would he would want to talk back to her anyway. She had always wanted a foreigner to come into town and tell exciting stories of their national customs and traditions.

"Guten Abend fraulein" Wilhelm greeted, trying to impress Lily and coax her into conversation later on in the evening in case she wanted to practise her German with him. Lily smiled shyly at him and let her head drop, embarrassed that he might notice her cheeks rouging. "Would you ladies like a drink?" he kindly offered the party.

"I'm alright thank you" was Lily's polite reply, indicating at her glass of sherry which had barely been touched. She wasn't much of a drinker really.

"Well, **I** never say no to a free drink" Sybil announced, her eyes lighting up brightly with the knowledge that she wouldn't have to spend her own money tonight, "Same again for us three. This is Jean and Evelyn by the way" she introduced. Wilhelm bowed his head in greeting to the two other ladies before disappearing over to the bar with the other men as they bought their drinks. The girls quietly chattered away until some of the men returned and joined them at their table.

But these two were quite unfamiliar to them. Both were dark haired and swarthy. One was tall and muscular, the other quite small and stout in comparison.

"Is this seat taken?" the taller of the two men asked Lily. She hesitated for a moment. She had wanted to reserve this seat for Wilhelm but she knew she couldn't be rude no matter what her preference. She wasn't like Sybil, who had cruelly told the smaller man to move over a seat so that Aldo could come and sit next to her. Lily forced a smile and patted the chair next to her as an invitation.

He accepted the invitation gratefully and plonked his glass on to the table next to her own, managing to spill a few drops in the process.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name" she politely inquired and took in his face for the first time. And now that his face was lit up from the ethereal amber glow from the lamp that hung from the ceiling above them, she found that he was rather handsome. He had sparkling black eyes that were shaded by equally dark and rather bushy eye brows, and a quirky lopsided smile. Actually, it was less of a smile and more of a smirk. She also noted how dashing he looked in his suave leather jacket.

"Donny Donowitz. You're Lily right?" he introduced himself. He didn't need to ask after her name though, he had remembered it from before and was quite smitten by the pretty, young girl.

Lily instantly started to giggle at the mention of his name.

"What?" Donny asked with a raised eyebrow, a little bemused as to what was making her giggle.

"Donny Donowitz? Not very original is it. Kind of like being called Steve Stevenson"

"Suppose so"

Then there was a moment of silence. A rather awkward silence at that. Lily felt like an idiot for making such a lame comment about his name like she did, whilst Donny, for the first time in his life, had become tongue tied around a female. He didn't know how to talk to English girls. What kind of things did they like in comparison to American gals? Would his smooth moves and idle chit chat work on a girl like her? And with each minute growing more uncomfortable than the last, Lily decided to brave it and try to resume the conversation. She took a hearty sip of her sherry for Dutch courage.

"So what were you lot playing before anyway? When we first met you" she inquired, remembering the silhouettes of the men running about with balls and bats. She originally thought they might have been playing cricket but the bat was far too narrow to be a cricket bat. And she didn't see any stumps either. How can you play cricket without stumps?

"Baseball. You don't know what baseball is?" Donny asked a little shocked.

Lily shook her head in ignorance and Donny looked as if she'd insulted his mother. Back home he didn't know anyone who didn't even like baseball, never mind not knowing what it was. But then he remembered that the English liked cricket, rugby and soccer, or football as it was known here. They had never lived without the excitement of baseball. They had never lived!

"I'll teach you if you want, I'll make you into a right little Teddy Ballgame" he declared as he brought his glass to his lips and downed the amber liquid in one, wiping his mouth with his hand shamelessly. Lily furrowed her brow and the name simply went over her head.

"Teddy who?"

"Teddy 'Ballgame' Williams. He plays for the Red Sox. He's the best player in the world"

She was about to ask who the Red Sox were when they were interrupted by a thud on the table.

"Here are your drinks ladies" Wilhelm said bringing over three glasses to the table where he was warmly greeted and thanked. He was about to go back to the bar to claim his glass of whisky and then rejoin the merry group when he noticed that Lily already had company. It appeared that she and Donny were in deep conversation and she seemed quite taken by the young man, much to Willy's disappointment. He instead returned to the bar and decided to stay there, watching the couple from his seat and secretly hoping Donny would mess up so he could try once again to win Lily's interest.

"So why did you come over to Europe? Its not like you Yanks are really involved in this war, is it?" Jean, their voluptuous red headed friend asked Donny and Utivich, looking from one to the other until she got a response out of them.

"We've come to sort those fuckers out" Donny proudly announced, forgetting that he was in the presence of ladies and continued cursing with his foul mouth.

"The Nazis?" Jean inquired, not completely sure who they were talking about.

"Yeah the fucking Nazis! Making my people's lives a living hell. We're gonna teach them a fucking lesson!" Donny announced and he received a couple of whistles and whoops from his comrades.

"**Your **people?" Lily inquired, assuming he was talking about Americans. _What on earth had the Nazis done to the Americans?_ She couldn't recall any threats or air strikes occurring in America from the newspaper. Perhaps she had missed something. Something big it appeared!

"Yeah. We're Jewish" Donny revealed.

"Oh" Lily and Evelyn chorused at the same time. But whilst Lily's exclamation was because of understanding her own stupidity, Evelyn's sounded a little shocked. Perhaps even…disgusted? Something that did not unnoticed by Donny.

"You got a problem with Jews?" he accused, glaring at her suspiciously. He was used to anti Semitism. He had a lifetime of experience of it back in America and he knew how to deal with ignorant fuckers like this. There was an awkward tension at the table now as a deathly silence fell over them all. Evie felt all of the eyes staring at her and started to fidget uncomfortably in her seat. She stuttered for a moment trying to think her way out of this awkward situation and after a bit of stammering she finally came out with,

"No its...it's just that...that there's.. not many Jewish girls around here" she finished rather lamely.

"And?" Utivich asked, thinking that was a pretty poor excuse.

"Well I thought you lot like to stick with your own" was her reply, her voice little better than a whisper now. She was beginning to wish she never brought the subject up now.

"What the fuck has that got to do with..." but before Donny could challenge this statement there was a unison of gasps at the bar and they all turned their heads towards where the commotion was coming from.

Apparently it was all kicking off!

Evelyn thanked God for the distraction. And from that moment on she vowed to herself that if her friends insisted on keeping company with these men for the rest of the night she was going to keep her mouth firmly shut. She didn't want to end up in another sticky situation like that again.

"I'm not serving no Kraut!" the barman shouted in his thick Lancashire accent.

Lily, seeing that trouble was brewing, decided to get up from her seat and do her best she could to cool the situation down. She thought she might be able to use the fact that she was friendly with the landlord's son in her favour. Aldo followed after her, knocking back the rest of his whisky in one smooth motion.

"George, what's going on?" Lily inquired in her sweetest, most polite manner. But before George could get a civil word out of his mouth, Aldo marched up to the bar and slammed his fist on to the counter.

"We got a problem here?" he demanded as though he were the publican and not the balding little man standing before him.

"They won't serve Hugo" Omar stated.

"**His** sort aren't welcome here" was the barman's fervour reply.

"You served Willy" Aldo observed, pointing at the Austrian who was resting his chin on his hand leaning against the bar top in a rather nonchalant manner.

"No, I bought them all together, Hugo went back for another" Hirschberg revealed.

"Come on George, don't be like that. He's on our side. Just think of the profits that can be made if you..." Lily tried steadfast to diffuse the increasingly tense situation with gentle persuasion and a sweet smile. But then Aldo butted in and cut her off mid sentence.

"Well listen here, this here is a good Kraut. He's fighting for **our** side. So I suggests that you serve him before you make us all **REAL** mad" Aldo said in his most polite but also most intimidating voice. He pointed his finger dangerously at the barman, who did not like this one bit.

"Get lost Yank!"

All hell broke loose.

The barman, not taking kindly to being pointed at so rudely, pushed the offending finger out of his way. Before he had time to react, there was a full on bar brawl in his pub.

The Yanks and Krauts were smashing glasses, jumping over tables and destroying furniture, just waiting for someone to get in their way so they could pick a fight with them. Lily dived back to the safety of her friends, who had ducked beneath the table amidst the flying objects being hurled about. Most of the customers followed suit but a brave few, the barman included, decided to take them on. There were black eyes, split lips and bruises before a shout of…

"Out! OUT! Not having any more of them God damn Yanks in here anymore! Bloody Krauts! You girls can go and all, I'll be having a word with your mothers" he ranted, sounded as though he were on the verge of a nervous breakdown. A vein began to visibly throb in his bald head and looked in danger of exploding.

"We haven't done anything" Lily protested as Donny, who had been pushed out of the door once already, had come back in ready for another fight. As soon as Aldo and Wilhelm saw that the girls had left their table looking rather disgruntled, they decided it would be best to follow them out and dragged Donny along with them.

"Save it for them Nazis, Donny" Aldo told his friend, patting him encouragingly on the back as he stirred him away from the pub by his shoulders.

* * *

The Basterds and the girls walked half way down the lane when they lost what little light there was that had previously lit up the street. The blackout was in full swing and the only light allowed out on the street were taped over torches. Every now and then there would be a window which wasn't taped up properly and let out little stream of light.

"Sorry we got you kicked out" Utivich apologised to the girls as sincerely as he could.

"Never mind, he's a miserable old sod anyway. Can't wait til his son takes over, now **he **knows how to have a laugh" Sybil complained. She couldn't stand the old folk around here. All nosey, miserable busy bodies. She never imagined that they could have been young once too. In fact she was sure they had been born grumpy old gits.

"Is there anywhere else we can go?" Donny inquired, not wanting the night to be over with so soon. He had barely gotten to know Lily at all. The gang were currently walking on the village green and Lily almost stumbled.

"Ow Lily, you just stood on my foot" Jean shrieked as she felt Lily's heel almost crush her little toe.

"Sorry I can't see where I'm going. Bloody blackout!"

"You can take my arm if you want" Donny offered.

"Thanks, just watch out for that..." but a deafening thud silenced her, "Signpost. Oh, you alright?" Lily cringed when she heard Donny walk straight into the wooden post, probably face first. She wasn't sure if she imagined the sound of a breaking nose or not. She linked her arm around his and thought it would be best if **she** guided him rather the other way around.

"I'm fine" he weakly replied and Lily couldn't help but give a little chuckle.

"We can go to the dance hall" Jean announced. It wasn't that far away and there would still be a good hour and a half left of it. But before anyone could respond they were all dazzled by an unmasked torch that was being held by a young lad who seemed to be lurking in the shadows.

"Got any gum, chum?" the boy asked the men, fully aware that they were American and probably had candy and gum. The few American soldiers that had come over to help out in the war were famous for their generosity of giving sweets and cigarettes to the locals and the young lad thought he'd try his luck. He was met with incredible hostility however, for the girls already knew him as Lily's little brother.

"Bugger off, Jack" Sybil shouted when the boy shone the torch in her eyes and blinded her with the light. "You're meant to have that covered as well. If the warden sees you he'll give you a right earful"

"Wasn't talking to you" Jack snapped and then looked rather innocently at the men with his big, blue eyes and he gave a hopeful smile. The Basterds were having none of it.

"You heard her, bugger off" Aldo repeated and made a gesture which told him exactly where to go. Jack muttered something under his breath and was about to run off when he suddenly remembered he had to pass on a message to his sister.

"Oi Lily, Mam wants to know what time you're coming back" he relayed.

"I don't know. Just tell her to leave the key out" she replied rather unsure as the rest of the group began walking on down the lane and dragging her along with them, "But you can go straight home, Jack. You hear?" she warned her little brother who merely imitated what she had told him like a parrot. _Little git,_ she thought.

* * *

It was well past midnight by the time Lily arrived home, groping around the front door and checking under all the flower pots before her eye caught sight of the glistening silver key.

"Got you, you little bugger!" she mumbled in triumph as she slotted it into the lock. She opened it as quietly as she could, aware that the door had a tendency to squeak when she wanted to avoid detection. Well, she was in now, that was all that mattered, and she shut the door behind her as softly as she could.

All she had to do now was get up the stairs and she could deny she ever came back late. She knew that her mother would go off the wall if she ever knew what time she came back in. Especially if she knew where she had been, and more importantly who she had been with. But she was almost there now. She had removed her shoes and was tiptoeing up the stairs as quietly as a church mouse. She could see her bedroom door...

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" a voice shouted from the foot of the stairs.

She had failed miserably.

She turned back around to see her mother standing on the threshold of the living room, rollers in hair and dressed in a rather frumpy fuchsia nightgown. She did well not to laugh at what she saw. This was definitely a good way of keeping burglars out of the house. Not that they had much to steal in the first place.

"Dance hall" she innocently slurred. As the night had continued, the basterds kept plying the girls with plenty of drinks and Lily was worst for wear. She wasn't used to drinking such copious amounts. She barely drank in the first place.

"Til this time? And whats this I hear about you getting kicked out of the pub" she demanded, having received a rather angry visit from the landlord of the Red Lion.

"I got kicked out of the pub" she boldly smirked.

"Don't get cheeky with me madam, I'm not gonna put up with it. You're drunk aren't you? Well you can stay away from them Americans from now on" her mother warned, but Lily decided to carry on with her smart mouthed ways, caring little for the consequences.

"Fine, I'll stay with the Germans instead. Hugo and Willi are much more fun anyway" she grinned once again, happy at having gotten one over her mother so easily. She tried to run up the stairs before her mother could say another word but she heard her mouth open once again and rolled her eyes in despair.

"Oi, don't you..." she was about to chastise again.

"Oh shut up, Mam. I'm going to bed" Lily shouted, then ran into her room slamming the door shut behind her. She knew she would get a rollicking in the morning but she would deal with that then. All she wanted to do now was sleep and dream about dancing all night with Donny Donowitz.


	3. A Game of Baseball

It was eleven o'clock the next morning when Lily finally decided to grace her mother and brother with her presence at the breakfast table, though now it was in the middle of being transformed into the lunch table.

"Oh so she finally gets up!" her mother chided as her daughter plonked herself down on one of the old, rickety chairs. The sunlight was pouring through the kitchen window right on to her and hurting her already overly sensitive eyes. Her mouth was dry and her head was pounding as if there was a mini brass band playing inside her brain. She was already in a bad mood and couldn't be doing with these snide little comments so she decided to keep her mouth shut in hopes that her mother would soon get tired of it. She was also hoping that her mother would forget that she had answered her back last night and would take pity on her. No such luck it would seem and she was told that if she wanted a cup of tea she would have to get up and heat the pot herself.

"You were with that Yank all night, weren't you?" Jack provoked her with much glee, flashing her a condescending smile as she poured the steaming hot liquid into her cup with trembling, unsteady hands. Lily might have let her mother talk to her like that, but she wasn't about to let someone snot nosed little toe rag speak to her in the same manner.

"Shut it, you little git!" she snapped and Jack immediately jumped back into his chair. He thought she would accept his teasing due to her delicate condition but it appeared he had overestimated her irritability. And he certainly knew not to wind his sister up further, having been on the receiving end of a beating from her many a time. But whilst her outburst had certainly silenced her brother, it only further enraged her mother.

"Oi, don't you dare talk to him like that!" she shouted in an equally loud voice, marching over to the table and giving her daughter a good wallop over the head. Luckily the feeling of nausea had disappeared long before she descended down the stairs or else her mother would have ended up with a nasty present all over the newly mopped floor. "My God girl, you've become a right little madam. It's all that Sybil's fault, I always said she was a bad influence"

"Mum, please don't start, I'm not feeling well" she informed her mother, cradling her head as she sat began to stir the milk around in her tea, the stench of greasy eggs and lard making her stomach turn and the clanking of metal against china making her feel like her ears were bleeding.

"Oh aye? And why would that be? Coz you were out boozing it all night with your little floozy friends. Thank God your father isn't here to see this. And where do you think you're going?" Mrs Coulson demanded to know as Lily rose out of her seat and stormed off.

"Out!" was Lily simple reply. She had just about had enough of this. She wasn't going to sit there and let her mother badmouth her. She grabbed her coat from off the bottom of the stairs and flung the door open.

"Oh no you don't!" her mother shouted, following her out into the hallway and determined to catch up with her. But as soon as she stepped over the kitchen threshold her daughter had already succeeded in unlocking and opening the front door. The only thing that she could do in response was to yell, "Don't you dare slam that door!" which was met with deaf ears as Lily pulled the door after her with a mighty bang that rung through the house. She couldn't figure out what had gotten into her daughter recently.

* * *

"Oh Lily, you look terrible!" was the first thing Jean said when she saw Lily come up the road towards the high street where they would do their weekly shop, or more realistically window shop now that rationing was in full place. She was so used to seeing her fresh faced and preemed, but at the moment she looked like death warmed up. Her usually already pale face was as white as chalk and she had great big bags under her eyes.

"Aw poor little Lily's got her first hangover" Sybil smirked as she threw her arm around her shoulder and welcomed her into what she liked to deem the 'bad girls' club.

"I don't even remember drinking that much" Lily confessed, but she was certainly sure that she wouldn't be drinking again in a hurry. The taste of sherry still lingered at the back of her throat everytime she swallowed leaving a foul taste in her mouth.

"I think that Donny put something in your drink" Evie pipped up. She was overly suspicious of those American and had taken a special dislike to Mr Raine and Donowitz who she was convinced were trying to take advantage of her friends. Donny in particular frightened her, especially after his little inquisition of her last night.

"Don't talk daft. She drank too much and couldn't handle it" Sybil rationalised and for once in her life she was the only one who was talking any sense.

"I should have stayed in bed" Lily moaned she nursed her head with her hand, resulting in a sympathetic Jean putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Stop your moaning and pull yourself together" Sybil said, getting sick of her friend's self pitying act, after all it was only a hangover, she had plenty of them herself and didn't go about acting as though she were dying, "We're going to pay the guys a little visit" she informed.

"Really?" Lily and Evie chorused together.

"Yes" Sybil replied and rolled her eyes in annoyance at her simple minded friends.

"I don't want to go and talk to them looking like this" Lily objected. She knew she looked a state and this was only confirmed when she caught sight of herself in a shop window and was met by the reflection of an ashen faced girl who had black rings puffing out from beneath her blood shot eyes.

"What? Scared that Donny's going to be put off? Trust me, if he wasn't put off by your rendition of _'the White Cliffs of Dover' _I'm sure he won't be put off by what a bit of make up can cover up" Sybil insisted and the other girls giggled as they dragged Lily into the tea room to help sort herself out.

* * *

An hour later and the girls had managed to coax the Basterds out of their training regime and into teaching them how to play a game of baseball. Currently it was Lily's turn and she and Donny were having a lot of fun in the process of the lesson.

"Now hold the bat like this, no like this" he instructed her, positioning her hands within his own and pressing his body right up close to hers, making her her heart thump a little harder against her chest and she couldn't help but swallow nervously at his closeness. But even when she was holding the bat correctly he still kept his hands wrapped around hers and he brought her arms back so they could swing the bat together. The thought made her happy but equally nervous and she began to feel even more sick than before.

"Now, when Utivich throws the ball" he announced loudly so that both Lily and Utivich could hear. Utivich, who was standing in as the pitcher, appeared to be in a world of his own however. Donny waited for him to come back to his senses for a moment but there seemed to be no such luck and he quickly lost his temper. "Utivich! Throw the fucking ball!"

"What? Oh!" Utivich exclaimed after being rudely brought back to reality. He lifted his right leg from off the ground and after pulling his arm back he shifted his weight back and extended his arm forward, forgetting that the girls were new to the game and he threw the ball so hard that Lily panicked and made no attempt to hit it whatsoever. Instead she put her arms over her head to shield herself from the impact and let out a little squeal.

"Not so fucking hard, you moron! Wanna try again?" Donny inquired, but Lily was adamant that this wasn't the game for her.

"No thanks, I'm not feeling too good anyway. Think i'm gonna sit this one out" she insisted once she had regained her composure. She smiled at Donny and passed him back the bat but despite her smiles he felt like he could throw the bat at Utivich for screwing up the moment for him. _Save it for them Nazis, Donny!_ he kept repeating in his head. At the moment it was only Aldo's words that kept him from losing his temper. _Hell yeah, I'm gonna bat myself a whole load of them murdering bastards_, he thought to himself,_ Sub-human my ass!_

As Lily made her way back towards her friends, Sybil couldn't help but howl with laughter at her friend's awful performance.

"Oh Lily, Lily, Lily" she mocked, trying her best to wind her up, "I'll show you girls how it's done" Sybil smiled cockily at her friends and went up to where Lily had previously been standing. She took the bat of Donny and when he tried to tell her how to hold it she smirked suggestively and informed him that she knew how to hold a bat as good as any of the men there, much to his amusement. Yet it seemed that her cockiness was her downfall and not only did she manage to miss the ball all three times, but on the third swing the bat flew away from her hands and narrowly avoided hitting Hirschberg who was acting as catcher. As she did her walk of shame back to her friends, the girls stood up and sarcastically applauded her.

"You sure showed us, Sibs!" Jean laughed and even Aldo who was sitting on the sidelines with the girls couldn't resist giving a little smirk at how miserably she had failed despite her arrogance.

"Shut up" She warned them and shot her friends a venomous look as she sat back down on the grass beside them.

"Well as pleasant as your company has been ladies, I'm afraid it's time for us to get back to our duties" Aldo informed them as he stood up and began brushing off the freshly mowed grass that had stuck to his trousers. He called his men up and they quickly formed into line again waiting for their Lieutenant's command. After all they had an important mission to train for and those Nazis weren't going to kill themselves.

"What a pity! Well there's always tonight. Fancy doing something?" Sybil inquired, fluttering her lashes at Aldo.

"Like what?" was Aldo's reply. It seemed he was just as interested in getting some action from Sybil as Donny was with Lily.

"Well I think it's safe to say that the pub is out of bounds" Jean laughed and the others all wore the same supressed smile as she did at the comment.

"What about the cinema? We'd have to get the bus but it's a good night out. We could go to the Boat and Horses afterwards too" Lily thought up.

She hadn't been to the cinema in ages and wanted a good night out. She knew that Sybil would appreciate the venue as a quiet and dark place to make out in the back seats whilst everyone else could enjoy the movie. And since The Boat and Horses would offer as a friendlier pub where they could all have a drink or two and no one would start any fights or get thrown out this time. She just had to remind the guys that the Americans would have to buy the drinks. Donny and Aldo nodded their heads in agreement, though they had ulterior motives running through their heads. Wicki thought it was a pretty good idea too and hoped that he might be able to sit on one side of Lily, even if Donny was sat on the other side of her. Utivich always had a great love of films and didn't care what they saw anyway, whilst Stiglitz was trying to figure out what a boat and horse had to do with anything.

"Sure, sounds swell" Donny confirmed, "What's on?"

"What about Sergeant York? I've heard that it's meant to be good" Evie informed them. Most of them had forgotten that she was even there she had been that quiet this afternoon but they seemed to appreciate her input and all agreed with her suggestion.

"We'll meet you at the stop at Gainford Gardens, seven o'clock. Don't be late! Toodles" Sybil waved goodbye in her usual flirtatious manner, going up to Aldo and teasing him with two kisses on the cheek and a quick peck on the mouth before she ran away and joined up with her friends. Lily couldn't help but wonder where Sybil had gained the courage to act so outrageously and why her mother hadn't thrown her out of their house for acting like a little hussy.


	4. Competition

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long guys! If you're curious to know the casting of my characters check out my profile page. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

As the girls walked back from the field and into the town they were chatting away with great anticipation for their big night out tonight. But as usual, their idle gossip soon turned to playful banter as Sybil played her favourite past time of teasing one of her friends. And this time she had Lily in her sights.

"Lily, you've got it so bad for Donny!" Sybil announced, and both she and Evie exchanged knowing looks with each other as they began giggling idiotically in her direction. Lily was beginning to get fed up with these snide little comments and thought that her friends resembled a pack of hyenas with their constant laughing and snickering.

"What do you mean?" she feigned ignorance but did a poor job at concealing it. And as a result of this, Sybil flung herself in front of the unsuspecting blonde and began a theatrical performance in which she took up to role of Lily Coulson as though she were a famous actress on stage in a Broadway production.

"Oh Donny, I don't know how to play baseball, will you show me?" she mimicked Lily's voice in an extra high and girly manner, accompanying the voice with over dramatic gestures to highlight how pathetic she was as she clearly pinned over the man that had captured her heart. "Oh Donny, your head, does it hurt?" she continued, re-enacting the night Donny had walked into a signpost and she clasped her hands together over her heart as she fluttered her eyelashes at the girls in a ridiculous manner. To be honest, Sybil had managed to capture the obvious love struck nature and general patheticness of her friend to a tee.

"Like you're any better" Jean accused and began her own theatrical performance in an effort to cheer up Lily, who was now sulking with a face that resembled a smacked backside. "Oh I'll show you boys how it's done! Oh Aldo I know how to grip a bat as good as any of the guys do" she mocked with Sybil's trademark cheeky winks. The other girls were howling with laughter, so much so that even prudish Evie had to press her hand against her ribs to ease the stitch she had as a result of laughing so hard.

"So who do you like then?" Sybil asked after glaring at Jean, trying to divert the attention away from herself knowing that she couldn't think of a good enough comeback to what Jean had said.

"None of them, they're all horrible. Give me a good old fashioned English lad any time" Jean declared and all four of them gave a patriotic cheer before bursting into giggles and incurring the disapproving looks of the vicar's wife and some of the congregation who were marching up to the church hall for their weekly Women's Institute meeting. The girls thought they were nothing but a bunch of old sourpusses anyway and didn't give a stuff what they thought. Well, all of them accept perhaps Eve who was always frightened of getting into trouble.

"You'll be lucky if any of them come back in one piece the way things are going at the moment. You best get it where you can, when you can" Sybil crassly informed her with a rude and provocative gesture. Evie instantly turned around to check if the vicar's wife had seen what she had done but thankfully she was too far up the hill to have taken any notice. She turned back to her friends with a scarlet face and gave a quiet sigh of relief. She loved her friends, she really did, but they could be so unrefined and crass at times.

"Actually Bertie and Harry are back on leave, I'll have you know. Bertie's sister said so yesterday" Jean told her otherwise, feeling rather smug that she knew something that gossip mongering Sybil didn't.

"Bert and Harry?" Evie suddenly perked up.

Albert Sutherland and Harry Baker were two lads who were the same age as the girls and had been their classmates when they were still in school. Whilst in their youths they had been nothing short of nuisances, torturing the girls relentlessly by hiding frogs in their desks and throwing spiders at them, they had now matured into fine young men and were currently residing in His Majesty's army.

"Haha, does Harry still fancy our Lily?" Sybil inquired, getting back to her favourite hobby of embarrassing the poor girl.

"He doesn't fancy me!" she snapped back defensively, her cheeks flushing as crimson as Evie's had done moments before.

"Wonder what he'll do when he finds out he's got competition?" Sybil continued, pretending she had never even heard Lily speak whilst discreetly elbowing Jean in the side with glee at the reaction she was getting out of their friend.

"He doesn't...he...I...oh just shut it or I'm going home" she spat getting more flustered by the second.

"Oh stop being so mardy, we're only teasing" Sybil sighed impatiently. Apparently she was the only one in the group that could take a joke!

"Bertie's nice though, isn't he?" Evie stated with dreamy eyes. She had always fancied him, a nice wholesome boy with jet black hair and pale blue eyes. She was desperate for him to notice her but was too timid to do anything about it.

"Really? I thought you liked the Kraut. You couldn't stop staring at him" Jean observed.

"I...he's handsome and all but..." After all, no one could deny that Hugo Stiglitz was an eye catching figure. Big and muscly and handsome to boot. But something about him frightened her, and it didn't help that he was German.

"He's a psycho!" Sybil finished off for her. She had never met a man who was as unsettling as he was, with his imposing physique yet quiet demeanour. She often wondered what went on in that head of his as he sat on the sidelines observing everything that was going on around him with those cold, steely eyes of his. The more she thought about it, the more it sent shivers down her spine. Only God knows what a man like that thinks about.

"He's not, he's just hardened. You can see it in his eyes. He's probably seen some bad things in his time and it's toughened him up" Lily defended. But Sybil couldn't help but let out a shrill 'ha' at her friends psychoanalysis and decided to lighten the mood once more by making a crass observation.

"You were looking at his eyes? I was more interested in his rear. He's got a backside of steel if ever I saw one" and the girls, with the exception of Evie who merely rolled her eyes at her disgusting minded friends, burst out into loud hysterics once more.

"Oh Sybil, you're so wicked" Lily managed to say through broken laughter and gasps for air as she linked arms with the girl and seemingly forgotten that she had been annoyed with her less than five minutes ago.

* * *

The day flew by and soon the girls found themselves in Sybil's bedroom getting ready for their group date. Sybil took charge of styling the friends, determined to make them look as glamorous as possible in an effort to show the Basterds that even Hollywood beauties such as Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth had nothing on the humble northern English lass. Their lips were painted red and they did the best they could with the rest of their make up rations. Sibyl herself was dressed in an oriental dress of black silk decorated in pink cherry blossom, a gift from her father who had purchased it in the late 30s on his travels with the navy to Singapore. Lily's outfit was much humbler in comparison, being a dark blue dress adorn with white polka dots. But with a bit of love and attention from Sybil and the girls, who had loaned her some red accessories to go with it, she looked the belle of the ball.

What she didn't know however, was that the girls were on a mission to hook her up with Donny tonight whether she liked it or not.

"Don't you think we're a bit too dressed up for the pictures?" Lily inquired as she studied herself and Sybil in the dresser mirror and fiddled with a flower in her hair. She couldn't decide if she liked it or not and ended up just pulling out, tossing it on to the bed with the rest of the discarded make up and accessories.

"You can never be too dressed up, sweetie!" was Sybil's cool response and Lily supposed that she should have expected such an answer from her.

It was 6:45 pm and the girls left the house, slowly making their way towards the Gainford Gardens bus stop. But on their journey down the lane they were met by a pleasant surprise in the guise of two young men in the King's uniform coming in the opposite direction. Their faces were over come with joy as they came to the realisation that they knew these gentlemen. It was none other than Harry and Bertie, and with that they tottered over to them as fast as their clumsy heels would allow.

"Hey girls" Bertie greeted with a genuine smile of delight at seeing his old childhood friends again and throwing both arms simultaneously around Eve and Sybil.

"Hi" all four girls chorused together as they embraced the two men with hugs and kisses. But when Lily put her arms around the shoulders of Harry, the taller and fairer of the two men, the two of them both went to kiss each other upon the cheek and ended up brushing lips instead. Lily took a step back, her face aflame with embarrassment, and quickly turned on Bertie, embracing him with a deep hug so she could bury her face in his shoulder. Harry had dropped his head to the floor bashfully but he could not conceal the little grin upon his face. The thought of some day kissing Lily was all that kept him going through the hell hole that was war.

"So hows the war going fellas?" Sybil asked, the unofficial leader of the group and taking special care to flutter her elongated lashes in the direction of the boys whilst pouting her lips in in effort to look sultry.

"The less said the better" Bertie stated, casting down his eyes towards the ground in avoidance and the girls began to feel awkward as they were brought to the sudden realisation that war was not all glamour and prestige like the movies would have you believe.

"Well, it's a good job you've got us lovely ladies to keep your spirits up then isn't it?" Sybil stated in an effort to lift the mood and she gave them both one of her cheeky winks. It seemed to have worked already as Bertie was instantly besotted by her and couldn't help but be captivated by her beauty, especially her charming cherry red lips.

As Bertie and Sybil chattered away like two sparrows, Harry had finally gained the courage to look up from his shoes and address the group for the first time, his eyes squarely on Lily. All regarded him eagerly. It was a well known fact in the town that Harry Baker had been in love with Lily Coulson since he was fifteen years old. Even Lily's mother knew and had not so quietly hinted at the prospect of courtship to her daughter but she had utterly disregarded it. She would never make the first move with a man and poor Harry didn't have the guts to ask her out. He was convinced that all the horrible pranks he had played on the girls in his youth had come back to bite him in the backside.

"So, where are you girls off to tonight then?" he inquired in general although the question had been personally directed towards Lily. Lily opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, somewhat resembling a guppy fish, and in the end Sybil ended up answering for her.

"We were going to the cinema..." she began but before she had the chance to finish off her sentence Harry excitedly blurted out,

"Mind if we join you?" His eyes were hopeful and eager.

He was still somewhat shy around Lily but if the war had taught him anything it was to take chances and make the best of life whilst you can. He was going to ask her out...eventually. He just needed to pluck up the courage. Maybe they could watch a scary movie and she would cuddle up to him in the dark when she got frightened. Or perhaps they could go for a drink or two afterwards, that would help loosen his tongue and inhibitions. He just had to take it step by step for the moment. He was sure he could charm her given half a chance.

"Erm, well I... I don't think it would be your cup of tea really" Jean deliberated diplomatically. After all, none of the girls wanted them to intrude on their group date and she knew that the lads would kick off if they knew there were Yanks in town, never mind if they were hooking up with 'their' girls, as so many British men had concluded since the arrival of their allies.

"Come on, we love the cinema. I'd even sit through a romance" Harry laughed nervously, not seeming to get the hint that his company was not desired.

"Well we kind of just wanted it to be us girls" Jean announced, trying to think up a good excuse on the spot in order to spare the boys' feelings.

"Oh no, **they're** here!" Evie mumbled just loud enough for the girls to hear and all four of them turned around to see the Basterds walking towards them against the orange and violet background of a sunset. Lily and Sybil exchanged looks of horror whilst Jean emitted what appeared to be a groan of pain.

"...And them lot" she lamely finished off, her face scrunching up in preparation for what might occur as she brought her hand to her mouth.

The Basterds arrived less than a minute later, all dressed smartly in their pristine military uniforms that had caught many an English girl's eye. Harry and Bert eyed them up and down suspiciously as they greeted the girls.

"Ladies" Aldo greeted with a mock bow of the head as he took hold of Sybil's hand and kissed it as though he were a gentleman of old. She couldn't help but emit a girlish giggle as he did so and Bert felt his blood boil at the nerve of the man. To him he looked nothing better than a sleazy slimeball who was out to get whatever he could. And judging by his accent, he was American! Well, all of a sudden Bert had decided that he did not like Americans very much.

"Fellas, these are our old school friends, Harry and Bertie" Sybil introduced after placing a firm and loving hand upon Aldo's arm. "These are our new American friends. This is Lieutenant Aldo Raine, he's part Apache you know" she grinned as though she were the cat that had gotten the cream, not realising that her assumption of Aldo being part native Indian was incorrect and that he had actually acquired the nickname because of his love of scalping his enemy's corpses.

"How do you do?" Bertie muttered through gritted teeth, trying his best to appear the gentleman by extending his hand out to Lieutenant Raine but in his head he was calling him all the names under the sun. Not that Aldo and his men couldn't sense the Englishmen's hostility towards them. But they avoided any confrontation less it upset the girls and make them miss the film.

"Very well sir. And yourself?" he politely replied but his sincerity was just as dubious as Bertie's was. He didn't have much time for snot nosed little English boys. In truth he disliked most Englishman, who had deluded themselves into thinking they were still a great colonial power and so continued acting high and mighty against them. The only people he didn't mind in this country were the pretty English girls who had a penchant for nylon stockings and were willing to do anything to acquire them.

Bertie didn't even bother with a reply this time, he just answered him with a curt nod of the head. Sybil could sense the tension between the men and so decided it was about time they all got going.

"Well, gotta dash fellas. We'll see you around though, yeah?" she brightly announced, now hooking her arms around Aldo's and trying to stir him away from a virtual stare out with Bertie. But it wasn't Bertie she should have been worried about.

During all this time, Harry had stood silent, glued to the spot glaring at the group of Americans before him. He had shown a particularly interest in one of them, a man who was much broader and burlier than the rest with dark, bushy eye brows. He had been giving Lily the eye and she had coyly been returning it back. Now as the girls began to congregate around the Americans like flies around manure, he watched as this particular man approached Lily and offered her his arm for the evening. His heart fell into the pits of his stomach when he witnessed how her face lit up with joy at the offer. His right hand began to curl up into a fist as he saw them talking to each other in hushed tones, both of them grinning from ear to ear, Lily playing with her hair nervously. The sight sickened him and it had not gone unnoticed by the other girls, who were desperately trying to get the Basterds to move a further twenty feet down the lane in order to reach the safety of the bus stop. But Harry wasn't about to let them go without voicing his thoughts.

"Lily, I thought you were better than that!" he exclaimed. His opinion of her had changed completely within five minutes. She was little better than a hussy now. One of those loose girls who hung around with American soldiers in exchange for favours. He expected this of Sybil, and perhaps even Jean and Evie, who were little better than sheep. But he had never imagined the sweet, innocent girl he had known since childhood would effectively become a harlot.

Bertie was shocked by this outburst, surprised that his usually quiet and even tempered friend would ever say such a thing, especially towards the girl he had harboured secret feelings towards for almost a decade. He attributed it to the war. They'd both been at Dunkirk and seen the horror of war right before their very eyes. Things seem different after witnessing the corpses of fallen comrades who had once been close friends. Perhaps he was in shock. Perhaps he was disappointed that the one thing he had idolised at home, the one thing that had kept him going, had disregarded him completely for another man. He couldn't blame Lily for this. As far as he knew, she didn't even know that Harry liked her, although it had been completely obvious to the world and its wife.

Lily, though hurt by Harry's words, had thought it was best to not even acknowledge the comment and began to walk off with the girls and the Basterds. She thought it was best not to cause a scene, especially after witnessing the commotion caused by the Basterds at the Red Lion. But as soon as she made to walk away, Harry had stepped forward and grabbed her arm in an effort to stop her. But before she could even complain that his hand which had clamped on to her arm like a vice was hurting her, Donny had jumped forward and gave him an almighty shove in the chest.

"Get your fucking hands off her!" he yelled, pushing him so hard that he nearly knocked Harry off his feet.

"Don't tell me what to do you God damn Yank. You're not even a Yank are you, you fucking Yid!" Harry shouted, observing the trend of dark hair, swarthy complexions and large noses that betrayed the groups' Jewish origins.

"Harry!" Lily and Jean protested, disgusted that their friend could say such a thing but the Basterds were now in uproar.

Before Donny could react to the derogatory slur, Aldo had placed a strong, firm hand upon his shoulder, noting his friend's eyes had lit up in rage and looked almost demonic at the moment.

"Hey Donny, cool it" he warned.

Aldo had been reminded time and time again that they were to keep a low profile in England. Well the bar brawl wasn't going to do much good for their image, he couldn't very well allow a scuffle with the local boys to occur. He knew that Donny and the others would beat the crap out of them given half a chance and they were all itching to put their training to practise and have a good fight. And as much as Aldo loved to take part in a good fight himself, he knew he had to obey orders. He didn't fancy getting chewed out again.

The other Basterds, however, were not so quiet in voicing their opinions and had been egging him on relentlessly.

"Donny!" Hugo and Utivich had shouted in encouragement, stepping forward and backing their comrade. The mere sight of Stiglitz made Harry slightly wary but his strong German accent made his blood boil even more. It appeared to Lily that she would have to take charge and try keep the peace between them all. After all, this time it was technically her fault. At least that was what she believed anyway.

As Donny began to square up to Harry, she placed herself in front of him and forced him to look her in the eye, hoping that it might have a calming effect upon him and deter him from doing anything stupid.

"Please! Don't be such an idiot" she begged, desperate to diffuse the situation. But it seemed that her words fell on deaf ears and he tried to nudge past her, though fortunately for her Aldo had managed to hold him back. Bertie had also resorted to restraining his friend although Harry kept managing to wriggle free from his grip, only to be caught once again within his bear like hug.

Thankfully for the girls, who had been watching the events unfold in utter disbelief, salvation came for them in the form of a red double decker bus that was slowly making it's way down the winding road towards their bus stop.

"Come on, the bus is here. Just leave him" Lily pleaded, now linking her arm around Donny's and leading him towards the bus stop, although he was still reluctant to move. He would have probably overpowered her if it hadn't have been for Aldo who was tracing after him, repeating his slogan of _Save it for them Nazis,_ over and over again. With a few more threats and expletives exchanged between Harry and Donny, the Basterds reached their destination and hopped on to the bus.

* * *

_Five minutes later on the bus..._

"I'm gonna get those motherfuckers if it's the last thing I do on this God damn island. You guys with me?" Donny had enquired and was met with a positive murmur of approval as the rest of the Basterds all smirked at each other in the knowledge that they'd get to vent some of their pent up anger. Even Aldo couldn't help but join in with the fun. Perhaps they could get a bit of revenge on the last day before they were dropped into France. They could think of it as their own private target practise before they went Nazi hunting.

"What are you guys smirking about?" Sybil inquired as she noted that the boys had been talking in hushed tones and were looking suspiciously happy. She had suspected they had been telling dirty jokes and wanted to get in on the action. The rest of the girls had risen their eyebrows out of curiousity.

"Just that we've not been to the movies in a long time" Omar had smirked and the rest of the basterds quietly snickered at the private joke. Donny beating people up with his baseball bat was their own private entertainment.


	5. The Raid

After a laborious 30 minute journey on a packed out double-decker bus, the girls and the Basterds finally arrived at their destination. All of them welcomed the fresh, crisp wind that whipped at their hair, for the bus had been unbearably stuffy due to the overcrowded conditions. Sybil had compared it to being like sardines crammed into those tiny little cans they were sold in, and the rest of the group agreed with her wholeheartedly. A rare occurence indeed.

The town centre was a lot smaller than the Basterds had imagined it would be. In fact, it was more resemblant of an industrial estate with a small market in the middle. Where were all the department stores, the cafes, the restaurant and even the ice cream bars they were used to seeing in the US? What they had failed to realise, however, was that this was not a city centre. If you wanted any of these things you'd have to pop into a street car and go all the way to Manchester or even Liverpool. This little town square was where the locals shopped to gather their bits and bobs, or else have a good time at the ballroom or one of the many pubs that lined the little side streets.

But the main focus of their attention this evening was the building that was directly opposite the bus stop.

It was an old, dilapidated warehouse which had once been the centre of the community during the booming cotton industry. And outside the building in big, bold white letters stood the building's name 'The Grosvenor Picture Palace'. The Basterds were less than impressed with the grotty building and emitted inaudible sighs as they longed for the bright and pristine skyscrapers of America. It appeared to them that everything in this damp, miserable country was underwhelming and lacking. Even the slums of Boston and New York weren't as bad as this. At least this was what Donny thought anyway, though whether this was true or not made little difference to him. He had already made his mind up on the matter. But they all put on a brave face as the girls beamed proudly at them, and hid their disappointment as they accompanied them across the bustling road, hoping above all hope that the night's entertainments would make up for the lack of venue.

The merry squadron filed down the narrow aisles of the cinema theatre after being ushered in by an elderly man who looked as though he wished he were anywhere but here. He was growing increasingly ratty as he tottered past the rows of seats, continually shushing the giggling girls and bawdy boys as the whole crowd began to hiss at the screen. An image of Adolf Hitler popped up in the newsreel. Omar became almost entranced by the giant face upon the screen and wondered what it would be like to kill the Führer. He would die a happy man if he could be the one to personally put an end to the tyrannous reign of that Jew hating mass murdering maniac.

Eventually the group had managed to settle themselves down in the back three rows of the theatre. Since the cinema was so full the group had to split off into pairs and trios in order to find seats within close proximity of one another.

Omar, Utivich and Hirschberg sat in front of the rest of the group and fell silent as soon as the opening music began to play, becoming totally engrossed by the film. Wicki and Stiglitz sat at the end of the penultimate row, conversing with each other in their native tongues and making many of the other cinema goers feel uneasy, causing them to shift in their seats in order to strain their ears and detect whether the language they spoke was indeed German as they believed it was. Wicki could barely keep his focus on the movie however, and every now and then he would turn around in his seat and flash Lily a smile, for Lily and Donny were sitting behind them. Every now and then Donny would kick the back of their chairs in an effort to shut them up but soon stopped when Stiglitz turned around and gave him a deathly cold stare. Donny knew better than to provoke Hugo and would rather be fighting along side him than against him. Jean and Eve were sat on the opposite end of Lily's row and were whispering in each other's ears, giggling like idiots every time Gary Cooper appeared on the screen. Behind them sat Zimmerman and Sakowitz, who were scoping the place out for pretty girls. And what Sybil and Aldo were doing as they sat on the back row of the theatre is up best left unsaid in a T rated story.

It was about half way through the movie when Donny started to fidget nervously as he began to wonder how he should approach flirting with the young lady by his side. After all, he had been on the receiving end of a slap many a time because he pulled the wrong move on a girl and he didn't fancy upsetting someone who had a friend like Sybil. Finally he came up with a plan.

"You look cold. D'ya want my jacket?" he offered, noticing there was a draft in the air. But before she even had chance to reply he was already slipping one arm out of the sleeve of his bomber jacket in an attempt to be chivalrous. He could be quite the gentleman when the mood took him and he wanted to woo Lily properly. Well, until she was ready to put out for him anyway.

"I'm fine thanks" she assured him, placing a hand upon his arm to stop him from making any further efforts to remove his jacket and disturbing the rest of the audience. She had noted that some had already taken against them, hearing mutterings of "rude, inconsiderate gits" and "typical Yanks." And she couldn't help but fake a hiccough when she heard the random murmurings of what sounded like "I swear Doris, they're bleeding Gerries, they are!"

"You sure?" Donny continued to pester her, albeit all in good humour as his broad smile began to take up half of his face. She couldn't help but chuckle at his persistance.

"I'm sure. Anyway, if you want to offer it to anyone, I'd give it to Sybil. She's so cold that she needs Aldo's hands to keep her warm" she stated, inclining her head towards the back of the room. And sure enough, Donny turned around to see Sybil with her mouth clamped over Aldo's as though she were sucking the life out of him. And both of their hands were in places where they ought not be, especially in such a public place.

Donny and Lily did well to suppress their giggles at the cutting remark, with Donny leaning his head into Lily's and laughing into her hair whilst she in turn buried her head into his shoulder. She couldn't help but inhale the mixture of leather, fragrant talcum and woody blend of aftershave that made up Donny's scent. She rather liked it. Eventually the two managed to calm down and after composing themselves, exchanging sly smirks in the process, they resumed watching the movie.

"So who's your favourite movie star?" she inquired as she looked up at the striking image of Gary Cooper staring back down at them from the screen.

"Jane Russell" was his instantaneous reply, but realising that the response made him appear like a lecher he quickly added "And I like Humphrey Bogart too. What about you?"

"Greta Garbo" she confessed.

"You look like her a bit, you know" he complimented. Well, she may not have been her exact doppelganger but she certainly had elements of her looks, particularly when Garbo was younger and blonde. She had her hair styled in a similar fashion and her pale blue eyes were framed by beautifully long lashes. But in all actuality Donny thought that Lily was a lot prettier than Miss Garbo, with her sultry full lips and delicately upturned button nose. And he was determined to have her.

"Don't be daft" she dismissed with a nervous chuckle, thankful for the dim lighting of the cinema as her face flushed bright red. But Donny furrowed his brow in curiosity at the discovery of this new, foreign word.

"Daft? What's **daft**?" he queried, his American twang making the word sound more exotic than what it actually was.

But just as Lily was just about to explain the meaning to him there was an interruption in the guise of a woman making her way to the front of the theatre.

"Ladies and gentleman, might I have your attention for a moment" a petite and rosy-cheeked usherette announced in a rather important manner as she stood in the middle of the screen, blocking a close up of Joan Leslie**.** "The air raid siren is going off and we recommend that you evacuate the theatre and make your way to Redgate Lane shelter. However, you are more than welcome to remain here and the film will run as usual"

There was a unison of groans and grumbles, and more than one person shouted "Bloody Hitler!" in a bid to be patriotic.

"**Every **time we go to the movies, every** bloody **time!" the voice of Jean could be heard rambling from the other side of the room as she and Eve pushed impatiently past those who had decided to brave it and watch the rest of the movie out.

"Come on, we'd better get going" Lily announced as she took hold of Donny's hand and led him down the aisle as the rest followed after them, making them reminiscence of an army convoy trooping outside the building and into the underground shelter on Redgate Lane.

* * *

**_In the meanwhile, in the air space over Lancashire, England..._**

"Now are you sure you remember what your duties are, Private Zoller?" the handsome blonde lieutenant demanded as he tried to make his voice heard over the groaning whirs of the plane engines alongside the whistling wind that whooshed around their ears from the newly opened cockpit door.

Fredrick Zoller, bright eyed and baby faced, didn't know where to look. Good manners and respect demanded that he should look his commanding officer squarely in the eye. However, he couldn't help but glance down at the inky landscape below as they flew across the night sky over England. He wondered how long it would take him to fall to his death should his parachute fail him and then gulped deeply, trying to emit the thought from his mind completely.

"Yes sir" was his obedient reply. His stomach a mixture of nervous butterflies and eager anticipation. He couldn't believe he was about to enter enemy territory. No matter what happened to him after he left this plane, he was going to be remembered as a hero of the Reich. Although whether this would become a posthumous legacy was left to be unseen. And he for one couldn't wait to discover the outcome.

"Here are your papers" the lieutenant announced.

As he leant over, Zoller received an envelope of pristine documents wrapped up in string which had been folded three times so that it would fit neatly into his jacket pocket. He undid the string and opened the envelope, studying the papers within. He was rather taken with his new identity card, which included a brown hued photo of him in his new Polish airman uniform. He looked as surly in the photo as he was now staring down at it, still unable to come to terms with the ugly uniform. A generally sweet but rather vain boy, Fredrick couldn't help but sulk about not being able to wear his beloved German uniform which he thought was much more dashing. The German and French girls certainly seemed to think so anyway. They swarmed around him like flies when he walked around the town in it. He couldn't imagine the English girls being very impressed with him wearing this piece of tat.

"Pawel Brzezicki" he read the name under the photo out loud.

Apparently his new name was now Pawel Brzezicki and he was born on the 7th January 1915. The lieutenant decided to fill him in on the rest of the subsequent information of his new personae. If Zoller was going to pull this off, he needed to be well informed of his new life down to the very last detail. The English would try anything to catch him out if they could.

"You're a member of 308 'Krakowski' Polish fighter squadron. You defected to Britain in July 1940 and were stationed in Blackpool. You are currently on sick leave after sustaining injuries to your arm during a mission over norther France" the lieutenant relayed.

"My Parent's names?" Zoller questioned as he continued to quickly glance through the papers, not being able to see any of that particular information on the documents in his hand. Although if he would have looked harder he would have seen that they were there in the fifth paragraph of his debrief. His anxiety and the high altitude was turning his brain to mush already, he could barely read straight and the words flew over his head.

"Miroslaw and Kornelia. You also have a sister called Sybilla. And until recently you lived in Mistrzejowice, Krakow" the lieutenant stressed in a slow and concise manner in order to help entrain it into the young private's mind. Fredrick mouthed it wordlessly back at him.

"And what do I do if I come across any Poles?" he suddenly remembered, looking up at the man with his innocent doe eyes that could break even the hardest of hearts. Well almost all, for the lieutenant certainly had a heart of ice and it would take more than a soft look to melt it.

"I thought you were fluent in Polish?" the lieutenant's eyes began to bulge at this new piece of information. Was the boy being serious?

"No, I said I was fluent in French, I picked up a bit of Polish when I was in Warsaw but..."

"Nevermind that!" the lieutenant snapped, "just insist you speak English. Tell them it makes you look less like spies or some nonsense" was his angry response.

How could they have gotten someone who wasn't even fluent in the language he was meant to be imitating. Surely headquarters wouldn't have ignored the possibility that young Zoller might encounter a Pole during his time in Britain, for the airforce was over run with genuine Polish airmen who defected from the now Nazi occupied territory. Was this man unknowingly embarking upon a suicide mission because that was what it was fast turning into.

"But surely they can tell by my accent that I'm..." Fredrick began, trying to highlight the danger he was facing. Sure he could do the stereotypical Polish accent but if there were any Poles around they would expose him as the spy he was. He sounded about as Polish as Bridget von Hammersmark sounded English.

"Then you shoot them" was the lieutenant's blunt, cold reply. He was getting rather sick of this pesky boy trying to undermine his authority and had a good mind to push him out of the plane with no parachute. Luckily for Fredrick, however, he was an integral part of the war campaign and couldn't be risked just to appease the lieutenant's ego. Instead, the lieutenant merely took a deep, calming breath and resumed with the rest of the debrief to which Zoller replied with one worded answers and brief nods of the head.

That was how the lieutenant liked it. Short and sweet.

"Good luck, private Zoller" were his final parting words to the young man as he did a last minute check on his uniform and parachute.

"Thank you sir. Heil Hitler!" and as regular as clockwork he stuck his right arm out into the Nazi salute whilst simultaneously clicking his heels together. The lieutenant returned his salute before making way for Private Zoller to make his jump. Fredrick carefully toed the threshold of the plane, with the cold night air gushing in and disturbing the hair on his head. After securing his goggles over his eyes he took a deep breath and looked straight out before him.

It was now or never, he thought.

* * *

Two hours later and the Basterds and girls were still stuck down in the air raid shelter under Redgate Lane. Everybody in there was beginning to grow restless now, for the place was beginning to smell of piss and sweat and the air was growing humid. Not only that, but the pitter patter of water droplets dripping against a metal pipe was starting to drive more than one person mad and the constant bombardment of explosives from above was making everybody nervous.

"How do you put up with this?" Omar flinched after a particularly loud bomb exploded near by causing the ground beneath them to shake. He began to withdraw into himself and rested his chin on his knees. Eve threw him a compassionate look and gave him a pat on the shoulder in an effort to keep up his spirits. That was the way things worked down here. A pat on the shoulder might not seem much but it showed that you were being thought of and Omar appreciated the kind gesture.

"Aren't **you** scared" Donny inquired of Lily as he watched how perfectly stoic and composed she looked huddled into the corner next to him. She was now nestled safely beneath his jacket, which she had begrudgingly accepted after his continued insistence.

"A little" she confessed sheepishly, as though it were a foolish thing to be frightened during an air raid, "but I just try to think about something else" she admitted.

At the moment she clung to childhood memories of herself at Blackpool with her family during the early 30s. The people around them now were not townies trying to seek shelter during a war but were fellow holidaymakers frolicking at the seaside beside her. The dripping water was not from a faulty piping network but was actually the waves in the sea. And the bombs overhead were not bombs at all, but rather part of a firework display that was lighting up the sky during the illuminations. And so vivid were her daydreams that she swore she could taste the sea salt in the air and felt the grains of sand between her toes.

"Like what?" Donny inquired, bringing her back to reality. She looked up at him blankly for a moment, as though she suspected he was trying to make fun of her. Well, she wasn't about to reveal her innermost thoughts and feelings to just anybody, especially not in a public bomb shelter, so she decided to change the subject.

"Tell me about where you're from" she insisted, all thoughts of Blackpool illuminations had changed to the bright lights of Broadway and Hollywood. How she would love to go there one day.

"You want to know about Boston?" was Donny's shocked reply, clearly taken aback that she was interested in his home town. But before either of them could continue on with the conversation an earth shattering boom disrupted them. It sounded like a bomb had landed directly over them and the light above flickered dangerously as bits of plaster and tin fell from the ceiling, leading to a choir of screams around them. Lily had lost all dignity now and after exhaling a tearful whimper she grabbed hold of Donny's arm, clenching on to it with all her might.

"Don't worry, I've got you" he whispered into her ear, covering her head with his arms and planting a kiss in her hair as he too buried his head low in order to make sure nothing landed on him and knocked him out.

There was a deathly silence for a moment as the shelter lights flicked on, then off and then back on again. There was now a fine layer of dust in the atmosphere which was the consequence of the bomb disturbing the environment. People began to uncover themselves and check the room around them. Had everyone made it? Had the bomb even hit them? A few let out a splutter or cough as they tried to avoid inhaling in the dust, but most lifted their heads up in thanks with mutterings of "that was a close one, wasn't it!" But it was only Sybil's grating voice that led Donny and Lily to withdraw from their safe retreat.

"Someone's getting awfully cozy over there!" she remarked, earning a few titters from Eve and Jean who were throwing approving glances Lily's way as they wiped the dust and debris from off their shoulders. This was going all too perfectly for them and their little plans. But before Lily had a chance to wipe the smiles of their faces, she was interrupted by a new voice that pipped up,

"Oi, get your hands of my sister!"

"Jack?" Lily dared to exclaim.

Surely it couldn't be?

Their mother was funny enough about Lily going out in the evening with her friends but there was no way on Earth that she would let her twelve year old son go out into town on his own. Especially not after dark and certainly not when there was a war going on. But sure enough, there was the freckled face of her brother lodged between the air warden and a bespectacled gentleman who appeared to be a prestigious banker, well suited in a bowler hat and carrying a rather large umbrella. "What are you doing here?" was her dumb response, her mouth agape in growing confusion.

"Went to the pictures" was his simple reply as he looked down guiltily at the floor trying to avoid her gaze. He knew he was in for it now.

"On your own? But..." and then it struck her. "Have you been spying on me, you little toe rag!" her voice began to tremble in anger.

"It's not my fault!" he protested in mock innocence, "Mam wanted to make sure you didn't get up to owt* with them lot" he indicated, pointing to the American soldiers and for the first time all evening Lily suddenly felt very self conscious about herself. Jack had seen her cavorting and cuddling with Donny and no matter how innocent the contact was, she knew her brother was a little tattle tale who would tell their mother everything. Lily immediately jumped up from her seat and marched over to her him, grabbing hold of his wrist and dragging him over to where the girls were sitting. Wicki politely stood up and offered her his seat, to which she thanked him with a courteous nod of the head.

"I'll bloody brain her, I will. And don't smirk at me or I'll brain you an' all " she warned, pushing Jack down roughly so he was now wedged between herself and Jean. A punishment that he didn't mind so much as he had a soft spot for the lovely and luscious redheaded Jean.

"Looks like we've got the all clear" the air warden called out in the midst of the kerfuffle and no sooner had he spoke that the whole population of the shelter made a surge forward to try and escape this hell hole. As the Basterds and the girls walked out, they saw a piece of shrapnel imbedded into the door of the shelter and commented on the damage it would cause if it went through a human. A thought that made the girls shudder.

"I hope the buses haven't been hit or else we're never getting home" Jack complained in dismay as they began the ascend up the rubble covered steps.

"That's the least of your worries, buster" Lily reminded him, nipping the back at his neck in reminder of how much trouble he was in.

But as soon as they exited the shelter, the sight of an orange and yellow glow against an indigo backdrop told them that this night's particular bombing raid had been a bad one and that the buses wouldn't be up and running for a good couple of hours yet.

"Come on, I'd better get you back home" Lily sighed impatiently, "See you later girls. Bye fellas" she bid them farewell with a brief wave of her hand before she took hold of Jack's and proceeded to walk down the lane, readying herself for what would be a good hours walk. The girls were about to protest about her abandoning them but someone cut in before they had the chance to air their complaints.

"Wait! I'll walk you home if you like" Donny offered, running after her and the boy much to the amusement of the rest of the gang who did little to hide their thoughts. The girls shot each other knowing glances and mischievous smirks whilst the Basterds all hollered and muttered crudely to each other under their breath. But whilst everybody was secretly happy that Donny was actively attempting to court Lily, with perhaps the exception of a still despondent Wicki, Jack was certainly not amused that his sister had an American admirer. He turned around and got ready to dig his finger into Donny's chest.

"Let's clear a couple of ground rules first. Number one, no loitering. Number two, no holding hands and number three, definitely no kissing" he instructed, for which he received a light hearted tap around the head from Lily for being so cheeky. Even Donny couldn't help but grin at the boy's forthrightness.

"Here" and with that Donny plonked his weekly ration of chewing gum and half a packet of cigarettes into the boy's hand, "Stay fifteen steps in front of us and don't look back" he warned him, giving Jack a firm push in the back in order to set him on his way. But Jack was not one for taking orders so good naturedly and so he turned back around, ready to give his usual back chat.

"Or else what?" he dared him, pushing his face as close to Donny's as was physically possible for a 5 ft 3 boy against a 6 foot tall man. Donny, now beginning to grow sick of this little runt, decided to sort him out once and for all. He turned to Lily and rolled his eyes back in an effort to catch the boy off guard and then suddenly grabbed at him, pulling him by the collar of his shirt. Jack did his best to beat him off with flailing fists but failed to make much of an impact.

"Or else you'll end up with a fat lip, now fuck off!" he spat and as soon as he let go of his collar, Jack proceeded to fly through the air again and landed off balance on his feet. Lily swore she heard Jack mutter something beneath his breath but brushed it off as childish petulance.

And with that, all three of them made the long journey back home, with Jack leading the way whilst Lily and Donny chatted away arm in arm in the distance.


End file.
